Oregon
Oregon WR’s Coach Junior Adams Discusses His ‘Super Talented’ Room
Though the weekend is in full force, as well as the barrage of Oregon Big Ten content, the Oregon football team is focused on the season ahead.
The fourth fall practice was not available to media members for attendance, but receiver coach Junior Adams and co-defensive coordinator Chris Hampton made themselves available for questions after the session.
This year, Adams signed a one year extension with the Ducks, securing his position on the team through January of 2026. He’s also the second-ranked recruiting coach in the nation according to 247 Sports, with the only coach currently ranked above him being Alabama’s offensive line coach, Chris Kapilovic. Given Adams’ success, there’s a compelling reason for him to stick with the Ducks.
“Well, I think everything starts with Dan Lanning,” Adams said. “He’s one of the best I’ve been around when it comes to that (long term results). And I think what he put on film the last few years, it’s attractive and at the end of the day this is University of Oregon, right, and just a place to be.”
As for his desired number of athletes in the receiver room, Adams is more focused on current performance. He claims that has yet to be discussed.
“No, we haven’t. We haven’t discussed it yet,” Adams said. “Obviously we’re worried about the now and where we’re at. And we have discussed numbers yet.”
Though numbers haven’t been discussed, Adams is simply impressed with the current comradery of his fifteen receivers.
“The biggest thing to me that stands out is how connected we are,” Adams said. “The room is super talented and everybody’s about the people in that room.”
Last year, injuries plagued the receiver room throughout the season. Troy Franklin suffering a shoulder injury during the Pac-12 Championship game against Washington. Gary Bryant Jr. suffered a leg injury while playing against Oregon State. Justius Lowe missed most of 2023.
Adams spoke to Lowe’s progress specifically when it comes to facing down an injury.
“Justius Lowe was a good example of the process of working,” Adams said. “He’s getting better every day. He’s working at it. Most importantly, he’s confident. He’s gotten a lot better in his fundamentals and his technique. He’s working on his craft, you know, after hours, not only when we’re supposed to be in the building, and he’s playing with a smile on his face.”
Adams also spoke about Bryant Jr. and his journey back to the field.
“Gary’s made some strides, obviously, with his fundamentals as far as the release package. He’s playing inside he plays outside. Gary has a high football IQ in Gary’s glued to that room,” Adams said. “There’s a lot of guys in there and lean on Gary. Gary’s a vet. I’m pretty excited. He’s made plays in all three positions for us as camp so far and excited to be dependent on the outside.”
Speaking of injuries, freshman Jurrion Dickey suffered an injury during the spring game, but is now back to receiving repetitions on the practice field. Dickey also infamously changed his controversial 99 jersey number to 13 this year, something Adams seems pleased to see.
“My goal for Jurrion, it’s just the day to day one. Yeah, he did get his jersey number changed – Thank goodness. And two is just the day to day like what does everyday look like? Can you be consistent? We talked about being a pro and Jurrion, he’s making a lot of strides. He’s making a lot of progress. I’m pretty pleased,” Adams said.
Quarterback Dillon Gabriel, a graduate transfer from Oklahoma, continued to be a topic throughout every coaching interview. Media members and fans saw a hesitant Gabriel attempt to adapt and get comfortable with the Oregon offense during the spring game. Adams claims Gabriel’s comfort is improving and uplifting his receivers’ game.
“Those guys spent a lot of time together and Dillon does a really good job of getting the guys together during certain trips and just doing things to where they can connect,” Adams said. “And the continuity, It’s at a good spot right now. We have four practices and I would say he’s made a play during practice, so, but all those guys are making plays. I know we’re sitting here talking a lot about the older guys, but I mean even the younger guys you got Dylan Gresham, you got Jack Ressler, you got Ryan Pellum, you got Brady Bidwell, you got Jalen Saint Paul. All those guys have made plays and that’s the really cool thing about it. So it’s not just the older guys who are the guys at the top as some may say, but those younger guys are making plays. Kyler Kasper had a really good day yesterday.”
Adams admitted that adding games through a potential bid at the College Football Playoff, incorporating traditional games with a Big Ten schedule, and the demand of a new conference can allow the younger talent he mentioned to get more field time and older receivers to get more rest.
“It’s pretty cool to build depth. Those younger guys are pushing the older guys so those guys are making them better. But for the most part we’re gonna be worried about today and you know when the season comes, it’s gonna be one game at a time,” Adams said.
Adams then elaborated on two athletes most anticipated for this season in the receiver corp: seniors Traeshon Holden and Tez Johnson, both returners for the season. Holden’s job is to work on the details.
“Details,” Adams said. “I mean, he’s gotten a lot better and I’m just getting the details as far as alignment and assignment because being consistent with it. Traeshon is the muscle in that room.”
Then there’s Johnson, who’s determined to be a leader for the Ducks after his adopted brother, quarterback Bo Nix, got drafted to the Denver Broncos.
“Tez’s done a good job because the guy this offseason, I would get random texts at seven o’clock in the morning or at night. Just clips of him in the mall one time doing a route break drill or doing releases. So he’s doing a really good job of one, trying to really work on his release game in his route package. He does a good job now he comes to the building early and he’s studying and film getting his eyes right as far as coverage recognition,” Adams said.
Adams credited Oregon coach Dan Lanning for his help in bettering the receiver room.
“Dan Lanning has been a really big help for those guys. Being a defensive minded head coach and being a defensive coordinator in his career. He comes and sits in the wide receiver meetings. You’ll see the guys go sit next to him at times and ask him a question which I think is really good or he’ll take over the floor and start coaching on the defense with what we’re seeing and it’s been really helpful for us,” Adams said.
Minutes after No. 12 Boise State knocked off Wyoming Saturday night, the Broncos’ next opponent — Oregon State — secured its biggest victory of the season.
A 55-yard Everett Hayes field goal with 20 seconds remaining lifted the Beavers to a 41-38 victory over Washington State in the unofficial Pac-12 championship game.
Oregon State (5-6), which had dropped five straight games following a 4-1 start, and Washington State (8-3) are competing as independents the next two years before Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State join the Pac-12 for the 2026 football season.
“Tonight was just what I’ve seen from these guys all season long: ups and downs, but they just keep going back to work,” first-year Beavers head coach Trent Bray said. “They believe in each other, and it was just a great team win. … We’ve been so close in so many games this last month or two. For them to be in that and pull it out and do it is huge.”
The Broncos (10-1, 7-0 Mountain West) and Beavers will face off at 10 a.m. Mountain time on Black Friday at Albertsons Stadium.
Oregon State won four of its first five games, but lost starting running back Jam Griffin and others along the way. A 42-37 defeat at Nevada began a streak of five consecutive losses that culminated in an embarrassing 28-0 shutout at Air Force last week.
The Beavers were out-gained 410-175 in Colorado Springs. One week later, Oregon State out-gained the high-flying Cougars 484-385.
“I think (offensive coordinator Ryan) Gunderson and the staff did a great job of narrowing things down,” Bray said. “What do we do well? How can we use guys? … Less is more, and I think that’s what we found out tonight.”
Idaho transfer Gevani McCoy started the first eight games at quarterback but was benched during a 44-7 loss at California. Ben Gulbranson, who went 7-1 as a starter during the Beavers’ 10-win 2022 season, started the San Jose State game but was unavailable against Air Force due to injury.
Gulbranson returned to the lineup Saturday and completed 22 for 34 passes for 294 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, including a pick-six that put Washington State up 38-31 in the fourth quarter. The junior bounced right back to lead a game-tying touchdown dive.
“I’m happy for Ben because he’s put in a lot of work and been through a lot his whole career,” Bray said of Gulbranson, who lost his starting job to transfer DJ Uiagalelei last year. “When it went bad, he didn’t hang his head, didn’t give up. He went right back and led the team down to score.”
The Beavers also used freshman quarterback Gabarri Johnson as a runner against Washington State. Johnson finished with six carries for 47 yards and a touchdown.
“I thought what we did with Gabarri and how we used his legs helped us move the ball,” Bray said.
Oregon State had scored just 20 combined points over its last three games before exploding for 41 Saturday night. Needing a victory for bowl eligibility, the Beavers would love to contain Heisman Trophy candidate Ashton Jeanty and spoil Boise State’s College Football Playoff bye aspirations.
“We know we’ve got a big-time opponent coming to the Blue this Friday, and we’ve got to be ready,” Broncos head coach Spencer Danielson said. “We know we’re going to get everybody’s best. We got Wyoming’s best tonight, and I promise you we are going to get Oregon State’s best.”
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The Oregon Ducks clinched a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game after their win a week ago against the Wisconsin Badgers. As for who the Ducks will play, that will not be decided until next week.
Updated Potential Big Ten Title Matchups
Heading into the final week of the Big Ten regular season, there are still three potential teams that can meet the Oregon Ducks. Those teams would be the Ohio State Buckeyes, Penn State Nittany Lions, and the Indiana Hoosiers.
The Buckeyes, Nittany Lions, and Hoosiers are all 7-1 in Big Ten play. If each were to win their final game of the regular season, Ohio State would get the nod to go to the Big Ten championship game. This is due to the fact that Ohio State handed each Penn State and Indiana their only losses of the 2024 season. The Buckeyes lone loss was at the hands of the Oregon Ducks.
Ohio State gave Indiana their first loss of the season in a 38-15 rout. Penn State held on for dear life against Minnesota and won 26-25.
Ohio State, Indiana, and Penn State all have a path heading into the final week. What are each team’s scenarios for meeting the Ducks in Indianapolis?
Ohio State Clinching Scenarios
For Ohio State, it is very simple. The Buckeyes just need to beat rival Michigan at home to clinch a spot in the Big Ten championship game. Win and they are in. However, if. Michigan were to shock the college football world and beat Ohio State on the road, there is still a path for Ohio State to get in. They would need Indiana and Penn State to both lose.
-Win vs. Michigan
OR
-Indiana and Penn State both lose
Penn State Clinching Scenarios
For Penn State, they need to win at home vs. Maryland. Additionally, they will need Ohio State to get upset at home by Michigan. The Nittany Lions don’t need to worry about the Hoosiers at all.
-Win vs. Maryland
AND
-Ohio State Loss
Indiana Clinching Scenarios
The Indiana Hoosiers need some help to get in after their defeat at Ohio State. The Hoosiers will not only have to win at Purdue, but for both Ohio State and Penn State to lose as well.
-Win at Purdue
AND
-Ohio State Loss
AND
-Penn State Loss
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CORVALLIS — It was a No One Watches Bowl for the ages.
And, yeah, I think that’s probably what they ought to call this thing. Forget the Pac-2 championship or the Left Behind Bowl. The schools need to lean into that bitter mondegreen of Lee Corso’s actual quote, the one that left folks so intensely riled a year ago. Because the display from Oregon State and Washington State on Saturday, well, that was certainly worth watching.
And for Beavers fans, worth celebrating.
A week after hitting the low point of Trent Bray’s tenure, the Beavers responded with a brilliant new high: A thrilling 41-38 win over the Cougars.
It was secured when Everett Hayes’ sent a 55-yard field goal just inside the right upright with 20 seconds remaining.
If you’re the type to quibble with whether a win over a Washington State team on the periphery of the top 25 truly merited an orange crush of fans storming the field, well, you’re just going to have to let them have this one.
That’s what you do when you beat your rival. Yes, I said rival.
Maybe it’s premature, but with Oregon continuing to distance itself from Oregon State, Beavers fans should let go of the Ducks — at least in football — and embrace this new, developing rivalry that on Saturday delivered a classic.
Will it be the same? Of course not. Nothing is. But unlike with the Ducks of the Big Ten, Washington State gives the Beavers a foil that is part of a shared experience. That has fought similar battles only to end up on the same field at the end of the season.
That’s what made Saturday’s win so sweet for Beavers fans. It was catharsis.
For a long season.
For a long year.
Saturday marked 364 days since Jonathan Smith announced his decision to leave for Michigan State. (How do you plan to observe the anniversary on Monday?) And while not every issue this program has faced can be hung on that moment, it was the beginning of the unraveling.
Assistant coaches followed Smith to Michigan State. Players jumped into the transfer portal. The Beavers were left with a roster, and frankly also a coaching staff, with too many questions and not enough answers.
I’m not alone in buying that the game with Washington State has achieved genuine rivalry status.
“I do and I have, to be honest with you,” said Bray, who grew up in Pullman and played for the Beavers. “It always has been.”
Maybe to some degree. But not a full-fledged rivalry with emotion and pride on the line.
Suddenly, it has all of that.
Especially after everything the Beavers and their fans have been through, off the field and on.
By Saturday, Oregon State was 4-6, riding a five-game losing streak. If this season even had a rock bottom, you hoped it was that inexcusable 28-zilch Coach Bray seat-warmer at Air Force. But you really couldn’t be sure, especially not against a WSU team that had harbored aspirations of crashing the College Football Playoff before crashing out against New Mexico last week.
So what happened?
Starting quarterback Ben Gulbranson got healthy after missing the trip to Air Force with a concussion, offensive coordinator Ryan Gunderson simplified the playbook, and the Beavers did something they had been unable to do in close games against Nevada and San Jose State.
They found a way.
Gulbranson overcame two second-half interceptions to complete a gotta-have-it fourth-down pass over the middle to Trent Walker to set up the go-ahead field goal. Before that, Jaden Robinson got a paw on a fumble to give the Beavers the ball at midfield when it seemed like it would, in fact, be Washington State that would milk the clock and kick a game-winner.
So when the game ended, and fans streamed onto the field, it was more than just a celebration of a single game.
“They’re the best fanbase out there,” Gulbranson said, “and I’m really happy that we could finish this one off for them and finish the season off right, here at Reser (Stadium).”
Does that make up for a season of frustration? Does it render moot the questions of a week ago? Of course not. Bray has serious questions to answer about the state of his team and the roster. He has a long way to go before he has a team that can contend for the CFP. He needs to find a quarterback.
This season has been a whiff at the most important position on the field. But Gulbranson is a tough customer. After he was passed over the job for a third consecutive year, he stayed ready for a third consecutive year, and stepped into the role when called upon for the third consecutive year.
On Saturday, he completed 22 of 34 passes for 294 yards. Just enough to tough out the most meaningful victory of the year.
You have to wonder if the Beavers might not have been able to pick off a few more wins if they had just trusted their Steady Eddie, Reliable Ben from the beginning.
Now, the Beavers are likely a week away from the end of their season. At 5-6, a bowl game is almost certainly out of reach.
They would have to beat No. 12 Boise State on the blue turf next week and that’s a tough ask of any team. Especially with the way Ashton Jeanty slices through defenses and the trouble OSU has had stopping the run.
So Saturday against the Cougars felt like the Beavers’ bowl game.
And maybe that’s the way it should be for two programs caught in this awkward purgatory. They are joined at the hip, not by choice but by necessity. Whether that makes them “buddies” or not, that’s for others to Dickert — I mean, dicker over.
But since when should rivals pretend to be friends? Beavers and Ducks never did.
There’s no replacing what the annual matchup with Oregon has meant to the state, but with that game now a nonconference matchup and not even a sure bet to be played beyond next season, it is, quite sadly, hard to put too much stock into anymore.
But Washington State? The Beavers will play the Cougars twice next season to highlight a schedule held together with duct tape and bubble gum.
And if this new iteration of the Pac-12 that the schools fought so hard for is going to make it and have an identity of its own, OSU and WSU have to be at the center of it.
A good rivalry needs a name.
The Beavers and Cougars can thank Corso for theirs, even if he was misheard, misunderstood and misquoted.
Maybe nobody in the Power Four conferences wanted these two schools.
But if Saturday is an indicator of how this rivalry is going to go, everyone will be watching.
— Bill Oram is the sports columnist at The Oregonian/OregonLive.
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